The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #6993   Message #1357961
Posted By: GUEST,David Ingerson
15-Dec-04 - 05:29 PM
Thread Name: Lyr Req: The Shores of Lough Bran
Subject: RE: Looking for lyrics: The Shores Of Lough Bran
I heard a woman singing it in Listol (I think) in 1983 who included this as the second verse (if my memory serves):

No more will I wander 'round Harknet's (?) green hill,
Or the old spot that I loved so well that was down by the mill,
Or the old forge where I ran and leaped and oft times did stray,
To inhale the fresh breezes 'round the shores of Lough Bran.

There's an obvious problem with the rhyme in the last couplet, so I sing it:

Or the old forge where I jumped and leaped and oft times I ran,
To inhale ... etc.

Either way it goes bump there. I'd love to find the original line, which, I assume, would be as smooth as the rest of the song.

Frank's right: it is a magic song. It was this song (I should find out who sang it) included on an anthology called "A Feast of Irish Folk" that reached out and simply grabbed me many years ago. Its spell has not let go. It was the first song in the sean nos that I had ever heard and I was hooked. I knew there must be more songs like that and I soon discovered the whole world of sean nos singing. It's been my musical home ever since.

David